Reading Notes: Sioux, Part A
Bibliography
"The Story of the Lost Wife" from Myths and Legends of the Sioux by Marie McLaughlin, Read it here
I think this might honestly be my favorite story I've read in this class! Although it was told with very simple language and succinctly, there were a number of surprising twists and turns that made me kind of wish there was a sequel, or an expanded version. I can definitely see this short folktale being rewritten as a much longer, modern-day novel.
The main character is an unnamed Native American girl from the Dakota people. In the story, she marries a man who promises to be kind and take care of her, but the man turns out to be rather cruel and not a great husband. The Dakota girl quickly becomes unsatisfied in her marriage and runs away.
While she is in the process of fleeing her husband, the Dakota girl is approached by a strange man, who tells her to come with him to his village. The Dakota girl has nothing better to do, really, so she agrees and follows the man. However, when they arrive at his village, it's full of wolves, not people. The strange man is really the chief of the wolves.
Despite the village being full of wolves, the Dakota girl is treated very kindly and adapts quickly to her new home. The wolf chief has the other wolves bring whatever meal the Dakota girl requests, and help her prepare it the way she likes. In this way, she lives happily in the wolf village for a whole year.
After a year is up, the wolf chief has a request for the Dakota girl. Her old people are on a buffalo hunt and their hunt will lead them straight to the wolf village. Fearing for his people's lives, the wolf chief asks the Dakota girl to go up to the hill and meet her old people in order to tell them to spare the wolves. The Dakota girl agrees.
When she meets her old people, they recognize her as the lost woman from the village. The Dakota people agree not to harm the wolves, but ask to meet the Dakota girl the next day so she can be reunited with her mother and father. The Dakota girl agrees, and her mother and father are overjoyed to see her again.
However, the Dakota girl is not as pleased, and actually passes out because she is not used to being around people and their smells. When she wakes up, she asks her family to go on the buffalo hunt and bring back all the meat they can hunt. Anxious for the Dakota girl, her family agrees.
The next day, all the men of the camp go out on the hunt and bring back a huge amount of buffalo meat for the Dakota girl. There's so much meet that when it was placed in a pile between two hills, there was no longer a valley in between. The Dakota girl planted a flag in the pile of meat and howled like a wolf, summoning all the wolves from the wolf village. They all came and ate the huge pile of meat, and then left with the Dakota girl, who lived with the wolves for a time, until she decided to live with her husband again.
"The Story of the Lost Wife" from Myths and Legends of the Sioux by Marie McLaughlin, Read it here
I think this might honestly be my favorite story I've read in this class! Although it was told with very simple language and succinctly, there were a number of surprising twists and turns that made me kind of wish there was a sequel, or an expanded version. I can definitely see this short folktale being rewritten as a much longer, modern-day novel.
The main character is an unnamed Native American girl from the Dakota people. In the story, she marries a man who promises to be kind and take care of her, but the man turns out to be rather cruel and not a great husband. The Dakota girl quickly becomes unsatisfied in her marriage and runs away.
While she is in the process of fleeing her husband, the Dakota girl is approached by a strange man, who tells her to come with him to his village. The Dakota girl has nothing better to do, really, so she agrees and follows the man. However, when they arrive at his village, it's full of wolves, not people. The strange man is really the chief of the wolves.
Despite the village being full of wolves, the Dakota girl is treated very kindly and adapts quickly to her new home. The wolf chief has the other wolves bring whatever meal the Dakota girl requests, and help her prepare it the way she likes. In this way, she lives happily in the wolf village for a whole year.
After a year is up, the wolf chief has a request for the Dakota girl. Her old people are on a buffalo hunt and their hunt will lead them straight to the wolf village. Fearing for his people's lives, the wolf chief asks the Dakota girl to go up to the hill and meet her old people in order to tell them to spare the wolves. The Dakota girl agrees.
When she meets her old people, they recognize her as the lost woman from the village. The Dakota people agree not to harm the wolves, but ask to meet the Dakota girl the next day so she can be reunited with her mother and father. The Dakota girl agrees, and her mother and father are overjoyed to see her again.
However, the Dakota girl is not as pleased, and actually passes out because she is not used to being around people and their smells. When she wakes up, she asks her family to go on the buffalo hunt and bring back all the meat they can hunt. Anxious for the Dakota girl, her family agrees.
The next day, all the men of the camp go out on the hunt and bring back a huge amount of buffalo meat for the Dakota girl. There's so much meet that when it was placed in a pile between two hills, there was no longer a valley in between. The Dakota girl planted a flag in the pile of meat and howled like a wolf, summoning all the wolves from the wolf village. They all came and ate the huge pile of meat, and then left with the Dakota girl, who lived with the wolves for a time, until she decided to live with her husband again.
A lone wolf, perhaps one that strayed from the wolf village.
(Image source: Wikimedia Commons)
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